Property developer shortlisted for Nevill Row project
BOUTIQUE developer Beau Property has been shortlisted for a national housebuilding award. The family business, from Tunbridge Wells, is shortlisted for ‘best restoration project’ for its Nevill Row development. They are up against household names including Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Weston Homes. The project of eight, two-bedroom Victorian-style houses, launched in May 2022 and […]
Open day at heritage estate as it presents development plans
INVESTMENT plans for a listed-building renovation at one of Tunbridge Wells’ oldest country estates will be open to the public in a presentation next week. Under recently submitted plans, Runcie Court, the elaborate late-Victorian stables and coach house at Salomons Estate in Broomhill Road, will be re-purposed from commercial use to accommodation, public meeting spaces […]
Burger chain opens doors for business
THE first meals were served by burger chain Five Guys yesterday (October 10) as its new restaurant opened for business in Tunbridge Wells for the first time. The chain has opened around 100 restaurants across the UK, since its first in Convent Garden in 2013, but has more than 1,500 worldwide. Plans for the restaurant […]
House prices go through the roof with a £36k hike
HOMEOWNERS in Tunbridge Wells made an average of £36,000 on their properties last year, although increases in house prices have now stopped, industry figures show. According to one of the country’s biggest lenders, prices across Tunbridge Wells shot up by 8.3 per cent in September compared to 12 months earlier. This means the average house […]
Councillor pushes to scrap ‘anachronism’ of yearly Tunbridge Wells election cycle
THE Council in Tunbridge Wells is to meet tonight for an extraordinary meeting to discuss scrapping the current electoral cycle in favour of single elections every four years. Currently, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) elects its representatives yearly, three years out of four, with no elections held on the fourth year. This process has meant […]
Local business leaders react to Chancellor’s mini-budget
CHANCELLOR Kwasi Kwarteng billed last Friday’s (September 23) ‘mini-budget’ as the ‘Growth Plan 2022’ but it has received a mixed reaction in and around Tunbridge Wells. The Chancellor has introduced the biggest programme of tax cuts for 50 years using more than £70 billion of increased borrowing. While the measures saw the pound plunge to […]
South East business confidence plummets
CONFIDENCE in small businesses in the South East has crashed below the national average, to levels not seen since the 2020 winter lockdown. In its South East Small Business Index, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that confidence had dropped from a rating of 9 in the first quarter of 2022 to minus 32 […]
Planning permission granted for four homes in conservation area
A PROJECT to build four dwellings in the Royal Tunbridge Wells conservation area has been granted planning permission. The plot on the corner of Boyne Park and Somerville Gardens was originally occupied by a villa built at the same time as many of its other Victorian and Edwardian neighbours. However, architects Southstudio said […]
Legal secretary has made the shortlist in paralegal awards
A TUNBRIDGE WELLS-based legal secretary has been named as a finalist in the in this year’s National Paralegal Awards. Ellie Sawyer from Loch Law, part of Loch Associate’s Group’s, has been named as best newcomer in the prestigious awards. Ms Sawyer, who was ‘highly commended’ at last year’s awards, joined Loch Law in 2017 as […]
County estate plan potting shed project to grow future revenues
A country estate in Tunbridge Wells plans to turn some under-utilised outbuildings into holiday cottages as part of a wider plan to grow revenues for the future. The brick-built potting sheds at Salomons Estate in Broomhill Road were part of a large glasshouse built in 1888-90, and were originally a place for gardening staff to […]
